Ten Trees Books has reopened in its new, permanent location at 29 N. Main St. in Natick, Mass., thanks to some help from a "book brigade" that moved 8,000 books across the street from its former, temporary location at The Hive, a retail incubator space that had housed the bookshop for its first year, MetroWest Daily News reported. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for November 7.
Owner Kim Rickard said that when customers learned of the upcoming move, they were eager to help: "People started to say, 'I want to help,' let's do a book brigade. I probably had 35 people ask me if they could help move. It was literally a human chain, hand to hand, arm to arm. It was such a great experience, because people met their neighbors and they started talking about the books. It was a very community-building event."
Rickard's inspiration for opening a bookstore in Natick came after she moved to town with her family and was looking for a place to meet new people. "With her lifelong love for books, she wanted to create a place that would help others find the same type of community she was looking for," MetroWest Daily News wrote.
She added that the bookstore's inventory is carefully curated to reflect the interests and spirit of Natick residents: "I really want to emphasize the Natick community, because I think they're exceptional in their vision of what they want the town to be."